The Romanian branch of German cosmetics company Beiersdorf AG (BDF), best-known for its Nivea brand, estimates sales to reach 18 million euros this year, up 20% since 2001.
The company's results are in line with expectations, but BDF Romania officials note the cosmetics market took a dive in the first ten months of the year.
"Some market segments even lost 10%, such as face care, deodorants and hair care products. Consumption is certainly below our expectations, considering the cosmetics market in Romania continues to expand," said Richard Frisch, BDF Romania general manager.
According to Frisch, low income is hampering the market growth, as consumers cannot afford "to buy everything they want."
Company estimates show the market of personal care products (face care, body lotions, deodorants, shampoos, shower gels) plunged to 57 million euros between January-October 2002, down from the 65 million euros logged in the year-ago period.
BDF Romania rules the market of face care products with Nivea Visage (21.2% market share). Nivea Body is the leader of the skin care segment (38.2%), Nivea Deo ranks first on the deodorant market (10.3%), while Nivea Shower holds 24.5%.
"We are happy with the evolution of our market shares, considering the general trend of the Romanian cosmetics market," Frisch said.
The company will remain among the main advertisers this year, after having forked out 14.8 million dollars (rate card) to advertising in 2001, which propelled it into top ten. Frisch says the company's advertising investments will grow 25% this year. About 90% of the Beiersdorf products that can be found in Romania are made in Germany, with the rest coming from France and Italy.
BDF Romania has about 60 employees and accounts for 10% of the parent company's sales in the area.
The Romanian subsidiary this year channeled investments to launching new products and expanding the distribution network. Company officials are not planning to open a production unit in Romania in the near future, because of the current market trends.
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